Boat beacher and launcher



March 28, 1961 E. L. c. STANFORD 2,976,694

BOAT BEACHER AND LAUNCHER Filed April 10, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan- 9 2L INVENTOR. ERIC L. C. STANFORD rmmzsm-ey MAE/E Err mNFmnEa/rm J' I Arrozvs will BOAT BEACHER AND LAUNCHER Eric L. C. Stanford, deceased, late of 2015 Military, Port Huron, Mich., by Marie Taft Stanford, executrlx, Port Huron, Mich.

Filed Apr. 10, 1957, Ser. No. 651,907

4 Claims. (Cl. 61-67) This invention relates to a boat beacher and launcher.

Frequently, in spots where no harbor facilities are available, it is desirable to be able to move a small size craft to and from the protection of a land base. The use of cranes and hoists is generally rather expensive, and the wind damage which frequently results from this type of mechanism is expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a practical and inexpensive boat handling device which can remove small craft from the water to a storage point of safety on land.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims.

Drawings accompany the disclosure, and the various views thereof may be briefly described as:

Figure 1, a perspective view showing the manner in which a device is related to the shoreline.

Figure 2, a horizontal elevation of the device.

Figure 3, a plan view. c

Figure 4, a sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5, a partial plan view of the shore and of the device at the anchor point.

Figure 6, a sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings, in Figures 1 and 2 the device is shown generally to consist of an anchor post P, a ramp and frame construction R, and a dock platform D formed as a pontoon.

On the pontoon are pivoted davits 20 mounted in sockets 22 at the ends of the pontoon on vertical supports 24. The davits can be anchored back as shown in Figure 3 when not in use. When in use, the ends, by suitable pulleys or hoists 26, support a boat B in or out of the water. The pontoon D is designed to function as a dock in ordinary use and is of suitable proportions to provide sufficient buoyancy to support the free end of the combined jetty composed of the ramp and the dock. This dock must also support a power plant, to be described, and the wheels which are used to shift the device as well as a reasonable number of persons. The entire pontoon assembly is suitably bolted to the ramp R.

A power plant is mounted in a housing 30 behind the pontoon D, the housing preferably having a water-tight compartment with suitable ventilation for a power plant, such as an internal combustion engine or an electric motor. Mounted on the bottom of the housing 30 are reversible traction wheels 40 driven through side pulleys 42, and mounted above the wheels 40 is a paddle wheel 44 with a side pulley 46. The paddle wheel 44 has paddles 48 and is so mounted that the wheel is partially submerged so that it will move the entire assembly in the water when power is applied.

A belt 50 connects wheels 40 and 44 through the pulleys 42 and 46. The power plant housing 30-is presented as a diagrammatic presentation of a suitable power source.

The wheels 40 are of unusual construction in that they consist of a circular base portion 52 which has mounted thereon tangential plates 54 suitably bolted by side brackets 56 to the flange of the wheel base 52. These Patented Mar. as, test tangential plates 54 are of sufficient flexibility to bend slightly as the weight of the pontoon is placed thereon when the device is paddled up to the shore and the wheels 40 begin to have traction in the soil of the shore. They thus willoperate on sand and mucky substances without sinking deeply into the substance and still provide sufficient traction.

The ramp or frame R is a braced structural beam member having a reinforcing center fin 60 and side fins 62. The uprights 64 for the railing wire 66 pass through the inturned edges 68 of the ramp platform 76 and also through the side plates 62 to terminate at the center fins 60 to stabilize the entire assembly. The in-shore end of the ramp R is fastened to the post assembly P by a heavy bracket 80 which has a large ring 82 projecting downwardly therefrom at an angle. On the post P an anchor cap 84 extends transversely of the end of the ramp R and is provided with a mounting step 86.

The post Ptcomprises a bottom plate 90, a central post 92 and a top plate or mounting bracket 94. A series of vertical reinforcements 96 tend to stabilize the entire post assembly as a ground anchor. The bracket 94 has a central socket member 98 which co-operates with a depending stud 100 on bracket 84, which pivots on the post assembly. 7

Bracket 84 has a saddle recess llilZ which receives the bottom portion of loop 82. A pin 104 locks the loop in I place. Also on the bracket 84 are two spaced pins 106 which are received in recesses in the saddle bracket 84 to provide lateral stability to the ramp R with respect to the anchor cap or saddle bracket 84. The ramp may thus swing on a horizontal axis with respect to bracket 84, and it may swing on a vertical axis with respect to the anchor post assembly P.

If desired, a stabilizing latch member 108 may be pivoted on the rods 110 having a lock portion to swing on apertured blocks 112 at each end of post 94. See Figure 5. Laterals 116 on bracket 84 lie adjacent blocks 108 in the off-shore position to permit locking.

In the operation of the device, assuming that the boat is approaching the dock and it is desired to beach the boat, the davits are in the swung-back position against the hand rails so that the front of the dock is clear. The boat is brought along side of the dock, the davits are swung outwards and the tackle made fast to the boat. The passengers now disembark and proceed along the jetty to the shore.

Controls on shore or on the jetty may now be operated to set the power plant in motion so that the paddle and wheels revolve. Since the pontoon and boat are both floating, the force of the revolving paddle will rotate the jetty about its pivot on shore. This will continue until the wheels come in contact with solid ground, when the wheel traction will provide the force necessary to continue the rotation of the jetty to any desired point on the shore, even under cover. When the wheels come in contact with the shore, the boat is automatically raised from the water. To launch the boat, the procedure is reversed. Thus, a retractable dock is provided which can be brought in-shore in bad weather or in winter, removing the danger of damage to the jetty by ice, etc. Also, a means is provided for beaching a boat with least possible effort.

This device should also simplify the work of loading a boat on a trailer and of stacking boats ata livery. Embarkation and dis-embarkation should be more easily accomplished since both the boat and the dock will rise and fall with the waves.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for launching and beaching water craft which comprises a land anchor to be mounted in the ground adjacent a waterway, a dock pontoon, means on said pontoon to fasten to a boat at water level, means said land anchor submerged in soil adjacent awaterway,

said land anchor comprising a pair of'vertically spaced plates connected to vertical reinforcements, an anchor cap member on said land anchor pivotally connected to said anchor on a vertical axis and a bracket member'connecting said ramp means and said anchor cap wherein the two may be related for movement on a horizontat axis, the anchor cap having a saddle recess and the bracket connecting the anchor cap with the ramp means having a ring member, a portion of which is received in said saddle formation on said anchor cap.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which means are connected to said anchor cap and said ramp connecting means to stabilize the device against pivotal movement on 'a vertical axis.

3. A device for launching and beaching water craft which comprises a land anchor to be mounted in the ground adjacent a waterway, a dock pontoon, means on said pontoon to fasten to a boat at water level, means operably secured to said pontoon for propelling said pontoon on land and in the water, and ramp means connecting said pontoon with said land anchor to permit access from land to the boat when the pontoon is waterborne, the means for propelling the pontoon on land and in the water comprising a plurality of wheels mounted adjacent the bottom of the pontoon and projecting below the "bottom, each wheel having a plurality of tangentially mounted plates spaced around the periphery thereof for propelling the pontoon on land, and another wheel, connected to rotate with'said other wheels, said other wheel having paddles thereon positioned above the bottom of the pontoon to be at least partially submerged when the pontoon is in the water to serve as a water propelling wheel to move the pontoon toward or away from land.

4. A device for launching and beaching water craft which comprises a land anchor to be mounted in the ground adjacent -a waterway, a dock pontoon, means on said pontoon to fasten to a boat at water level, means operably secured to said pontoon for propelling said pontoon on land and in the water, and ramp means connecting said pontoon with said land anchor to permit access from land to the boat when the pontoon is waterborne, the ramp means comprising a reinforced beam member and said land anchor comprising a submerged structure having aJhoriZOntal exposed member, an anchor plate pivotally connected to said exposed member on a vertical axis, means connecting said pivoted member with the iii-shore end of said ramp to connect the two in pivoted relation on a horizontal axis, means connected to said exposed member and said anchor plate to lock the same against movement in a horizontal plane, the anchor plate having a saddle opening for receiving a loop mem ber formed on the ramp means to provide said pivotal horizontal axis connection between said anchor plate and said ramp.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 939,878 Urie Nov. 9, 1909 1,019,165 Lord Mar. 5, 1912 1,430,820 Langworthy Oct, 3, 1922 2,564,951 Blagden Aug. 21, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,999 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1866 470,982 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1937 OTHER REFERENCES Aviation Week of August 6, 1951, pp. 32 and 37. 

